WA trooper rear-ended on I-5

skippythedog said on November 27, 2009 at 1:46 PM

Is it really necessary to shut down the entire freeway for an accident on the shoulder that involves only relatively minor injuries?

david5198 said on November 27, 2009 at 2:06 PM

I know that it seems overkill to shut down the freeway for what appear to be minor injuries. One must keep in mind that what at first appear to be minor injuries can, over a short time period, become serious to fatal. The fact that this involved an allegedly intoxicated driver and a state trooper's vehicle calls for a very complete accident investigation and scene reconstruction. The only way to do this is to shut down the traffic through the area. There is a lot of potential evidence that is strewn all over the place and this stuff has to be seen in place, photographed, listed and gathered. While this is being done the safety of the investigators must be attended to and this also means a closure to traffic. What we should all hope for at this point is that the trooper will recover and the delays will be as short as possible.

washingtonapple said on November 27, 2009 at 3:12 PM

May seem like overkill? If it was one of us who got hit the investigation would include a couple photographs, a short written report, and several questions about if we have insurance or were wearing our seatbelt in hopes of giving us a citation as well as the person who hit us. Been there, done that, and this is just another case of police expending massive resources and inconveniencing hundreds if not thousands of people whenever they feel they are protecting one of their own. But never for the average Joe.

midwestcoast said on November 27, 2009 at 3:14 PM

Shutting down the whole highway is b/s. It seems pretty clear cut to me, either the guy's drunk or he's not, and clearly either way he hit the cop...so what does shutting down the entire highway have to do with anything.

mrdisaster said on November 27, 2009 at 4:04 PM

You all seem eager to complain but if the investigation prevents a lawsuit or leads to a better conviction then we are all better off. Just let'em do their jobs and quit whinning.

davidadams said on November 27, 2009 at 4:33 PM

10 points to anyone that can point out the blatant grammar error...

shortimer said on November 27, 2009 at 4:54 PM

Non life-threatening cost more tax dollars.

heyler7 said on November 27, 2009 at 4:55 PM

Sure is tough seeing flasing lights, curious to know what the driver was doing to be so stupid.

thesnowqueen said on November 27, 2009 at 5:39 PM

By hitting the officer, someone else was saved from a possibly worse fate from the drunk drive. Hope the officer makes a full recovery.

shoreline said on November 27, 2009 at 6:09 PM

looks like the cable barrier worked!

tiffi said on November 27, 2009 at 7:09 PM

Geez, they should change the headline to say that his CAR was rear ended! At first I thought they were talking about his personal life. Not that I care or anything....

terrafirma said on November 27, 2009 at 8:44 PM

I would like other viewers to note the audio with this story. Notice that Trooper Leary is obviously going at a high rate of speed (engine sounds) and with emergency lights and siren WHILE HAVING A VERY UNIMPORTANT CONVERSATION WITH A TV NEWS PERSON. While RCW 46.61.667 (Using a wireless communications device while driving) exempts an "authorized emergency vehicle, or a tow truck responding to a disabled vehicle", I know that I would not want to be on a roadway while a trooper is chatting away with the news "journalist". Arranging medical transport OK, arranging traffic control OK. Talking with news media NOT OK.

gesus said on November 27, 2009 at 9:09 PM

Good to see that people are waiting 'til AFTER noon to start drinking.

blankingout said on November 28, 2009 at 12:17 AM

I though it was just a regular accident as a family with young kids were just standing on the median out there. That's one thing that sucks about this state... people don't make an attempt to drive around an accident or form a new lane on the opposite shoulder... they just stop and back up traffic. One thing it did was show how many fake cops cars;.. excuse me, I mean entrapment should be illegal big brother unmarked units exist.

leeoly said on November 28, 2009 at 1:40 AM

It is nice to see the compassion in your thoughts for the people injured at the collission scene. Along with your thoughts for the safety of those caring for the injured and investigating the collission. It is no surprise that you failed to read the whole article. If you had, you would have read that there was only one lane of traffic closed for the incident. I have never understood how it is more important for people to drive to their destination, than for others to do their job in caring for injured and investigating an incident. Those who find fault in laws or procedures should work with your elected legislature to improve the law. Those who place the fault of the result of their actions on the police who enforce the laws are merely displacing responsibility. Why don't you spend your time doing a little reading and research what really happened, instead of passing judgement before you have the facts.Thank an officer today for being willing to work in a job with risk to help others.

skippythedog said on November 28, 2009 at 2:12 AM

Hey Leeoly.....Mr. High and Mighty....Guess what? As is often the case, the article you read here after midnight is not the article we all commented on at Noon. K5 reported then that the "Freeway was shut down" at that time. The article has changed and been shortened dramatically since then.....yet all the comments have remained. Based on what they reported at that time, the closure of the entire NB portion of the freeway seemed like pretty disparate treatment when contrasted with what usually occurs when an ordinary person(s) is involved when the injuries are described as minor. But hey, I know it makes you feel pretty cool to criticize everyone else.

bilboothekitty said on November 28, 2009 at 4:43 AM

Skippythedog. You dump on leeoly for pointing out the obvious. No surprise, as you and your friends here are more concerned about the poor, persecuted "entrapped" driver who injured the officer than you are about the officer or any of the rest of us who could have been victimized. I have to wonder what you might have posted about Officer Timothy Brenton when he was murdered by Chris Monfort on Halloween night. Something snicking such as "violated Mr. Monfort's 2nd Amendment rights" or "profiling" or "ticket quotas".

lucy63 said on November 28, 2009 at 9:12 AM

On our way to grandmas house in Bellingham, my son and I sat through the traffic the day before when there was a semi-accident almost in the same place. We sat through this traffic the next day trying to go southbound on I-5 and then had to to sit in more traffic a half mile down the road because there was another accident caused by impatient, rude drivers. Yes it's frustrating when there is traffice but what was more frustrating for me was the rudeness of all the other drivers on both days. The tailgaiting, rubbernecking, lane switching...all while talking on their cell phones. It doesn't matter who or what was involved in any of these accidents, what matters is nobody died and we all made it home safely.

hawk1 said on November 30, 2009 at 1:01 PM

I'm a relative of the Trooper that was in this accident. I would like to ask a question to all of you who think you know everything -- would you want a 10 minute investigation if it were one of your family members or you that was in a vehicle hit by a drunk driver? I don't think so. I suppose you think they shouldn't be using all this man power to try to find the killer of the 4 police officers yesterday and it should only be a 10 minute investigation into that also. Why don't you guys find something else productive to concentrate on, like a job, instead of criticize others for doing what they have been educated and trained to do. Oh, I just answered my own question, because by the spelling I noticed in all your comments, none of you have been educated.

hawk1 said on November 30, 2009 at 3:17 PM

I am a relative of the Trooper involved in this accident. I have a question for those of you who think you know everything -- if this was one of your relatives or yourself injured in this accident, would you want a 10 minute investigation? I don't think so. And I suppose you think the manpower put to use right now trying to find the person that killed the 4 police officers is also unnecessary and should only be a 10 minute investigation. Before you criticize educated people for doing their jobs, why don't you put some effort into something more useful, like finding a job or maybe an get an education, as by your spelling in your comments, I can see that you don't have one.

hawk1 said on November 30, 2009 at 3:18 PM

I am a relative of the Trooper involved in this accident. I have a question for those of you who think you know everything -- if this was one of your relatives or yourself injured in this accident, would you want a 10 minute investigation? I don't think so. And I suppose you think the manpower put to use right now trying to find the person that killed the 4 police officers is also unnecessary and should only be a 10 minute investigation. Before you criticize educated people for doing their jobs, why don't you put some effort into something more useful, like finding a job or maybe an get an education, as by your spelling in your comments, I can see that you don't have one.

deniseh1006 said on December 1, 2009 at 1:54 PM

I just love it when all the people that complain about drunk drivers and are "So sad" about the deaths of police officers are the same that are turing on them when THEY are the ones that are rear-ended. It was NOT the trooper's fault he was rear-ended! It was the fault of the drunk driver, and yes, it was confirmed that he was indeed drunk while driving with his wife and two kids in the car. His wife ought to be in jail too for allowing him to drink and drive with their children in the car. Nice role model!